BlackBerry maker RIM has been given a reprieve by officials in the United Arab Emirates, who will not force the company to turn off its servers on October 11th as previously threatened. It was not immediately clear if the two parties had come to a permanent agreement vis a vis government access to BlackBerry data, or if the reprieve is simply temporary while negotiations continue. According to the Associated Press, 500,000 users would have been affected locally by the shutdown, along with anyone traveling to or through the UAE.

Other countries have also tried to play hardball with RIM regarding data access, including India, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, arguing that the system’s nearly-impenetrable security makes it an attractive communication method for criminals and terrorists.